The Old Mass is Found in the New

My thesis is that to understand and enter fully into the spirit of the modern liturgy you must understand the Tridentine liturgy, just as to fully understand the impact of the New Testament you must be intimately familiar with the Old Testament. After all, it was always the intent of the Church that the modern Mass should emerge as an organic development of the old Mass--not as a rejection of centuries of liturgical practice, a liturgical practice that nourished and was central for most of our well-known saints. It is funny that many who love St. Francis of Assissi seem so hostile to and suspicious of the Mass that was central to his life.

Catholic Analysis, insightful as always, discusses the need for a synoptic approach to both liturgical forms. A great point and one that hadn't occurred to me.

Men and Devotion to the Blessed Virgin

That is the subject of an interesting article by Jay at Living Catholicism. I never really thought about it much one way or the other but I don't thing I know any men who are devoted to the Blessed Virgin ... or if they are, then they aren't mentioning it. (Kind of hard to work into conversation for one thing!)

Jay not only gives reasons why it is a good idea but then talks about how to do it ... or at least see if it is right for you. This is well worth it for women to read as well as there are some good insights in general here.

My friend Ron had some interesting comments about Jay's post ... I especially like his insights about Mexican culture.

Interesting. I would never have thought in such broad terms. It seems there are a lot of Men who pray the Rosary and to me that seems to be a true devotion to Mary. Maybe the point is we need more....

I grew up in large part revering the Virgin of Guadalupe. In the Mexican culture it's almost ingrained in you from the beginning and it seems that many men have a special place for her. In fact the culture itself seems for the most part to be a Matriarchal society and revering Mary is just an extension of that (or vice versa). I know most people think that since the word "macho" comes from the Mexican culture that it implies a patriarchal society. My experience just doesn't prove that out, Men are very integral and in some parts very strong but the woman is the glue - the spiritual guide.

I am Gonna Get You So Many Lizards!

Fry: "I said I want the best one! Now which costs more, the parrot or the stinklizards?"

Man: "The lizards are a buck each, the parrot is $500."

Fry: "That's a hell of a good parrot!"

Fry: "Although I could get five hundred lizards for the same price. Girls like swarms of lizards, right?"

Man: "Sir, the store is closing in two minutes."

Fry: "I'll take the five hundred lizards! No...wait...yes. No! Yes! Yes! Yes! The parrot!"

Parrot: "squawk!"

later in episode ....

Leela: "Hi there."

Fry: "Leela! Oh my God, you saved my life! I am gonna get you so many lizards!"

Futurama, Xmas Story

This is the bit of Futurama Christmas show that led to one of our family's private jokes. After we watched this episode for the umpteenth time, I had gotten something at the store that Rose loves but didn't expect (what was it? I have no clue.). She popped out with, "I am gonna get you so many lizards." Cue laughter and a family tradition/joke was born. It didn't take long ... now Hannah's friends have watched that episode and are starting to say it too ...

I Like Tom's Explanation

Checking out at the Central Market today I recognized the checker. That's easy enough to do if you go to any store often. They're always in the same place. We expect to see those familar faces. This fellow wasn't someone I usually go to but the CM is remarkably open at the check out area so looking around while groceries are being bought you get used to the regular faces.

I was surprised though when he looked at me and said, "Weren't you just in here yesterday?" It took me a minute and then I remembered that I ran in for a gallon of milk (ok, and a quart of eggnog on the side, if we must be totally honest). He was my checker in the "10 items or less" line. Now I only bought two unremarkable items and paid in cash (remarkable for me but he didn't know that). Out of all the people he saw yesterday he still remembered me well enough to remark on it?

Ahem. I have had this happen before so I know I look ... well, let's call it "distinctive" enough to have people remember me. Perhaps it's the combination of spiky haircut, glasses and rather spherical profile. I was telling Tom about the incident and he said, "It is the glow of your radiant beauty they recognize." Awwwwwwwww. I am gonna get him soooo many lizards!

Weekend Puzzler

LAST WEEK'S ANSWER
The answer to last week's Puzzler about the boy who had to figure out a way to get his fishing pole on the bus is:
He goes back to the store where he bought the fishing rod and gets a box that's 4 feet by 3 feet and the diagonal is 5 feet.

Congratulations to Gilbert, the only person to guess the right answer last week (including me because I never look at the answer until I post it).


THIS WEEK'S PUZZLER: IGOR AND HIS PRINCESS
Also from Car Talk

The beautiful young princess had a dilemma. She was in love with Igor, the blacksmith's son, and she wanted to marry him. However, she knew that her father, the king, would not approve. Furthermore, if the king knew of their love, he would surely have the young man executed.

They devised a plan. They will elope. Sadly, their plan is foiled, and they are stopped at the castle gates by the guards.

And they are brought before the king. Now the king was indeed furious but decided to offer Igor a sportin' chance, as they say. He said he would write the word princess on one piece of paper and death on another, and the young lad could decide his own fate by selecting one of the slips of paper from a jar. So the two slips are crumbled up, thrown in a jar.

Sadly, the king is a sneak. He writes "death" on both pieces of paper. Despite this. Igor manages to win the princess's hand.

How did he thwart the king?

My Christmas Menu

For my friend Marlene and anyone else who is interested ... my Christmas Menu and a few of the recipes.

The Faith of Mary

Take the trusting serenity of the virgin Mary in the secret she kept from Saint Joseph. Mary loved Joseph and she saw him suffer (Matt. 1:18-19). She trusted in God. It is possible that in following our own vocation or in carrying out God's will, we may be afraid of making our loved ones suffer. He knows best how to arrange things. God knows best. She was to understand later. The accomplishment of God's will, which always involves faith, is the greatest good for ourselves and for those with whom we normally come in contact, or have dealings with.

Think of the faith of Our Lady in the difficult moments that preceded the birth of Jesus. St. Joseph knocked on many doors that Christmas eve and Our Lady heard many refusals. Think of her faith in the face of that rapid flight into Egypt, of God fleeing to a foreign land!

Consider too Mary's trust every single day of those thirty years when Jesus led his hidden life in Nazareth, when there were no miraculous signs of her son's divinity, nothing but simple and ordinary work ...

Ponder the faith of Mary on Calvary. This was how the Blessed Virgin made progress on the pilgrimage of faith. She maintained her union with her son right up to the cross. There, by the divine plan, she took her stand, endured bitter grief with her only child, shared with a mother's heart in his sacrifice by giving a loving consent to the offering of the victim who had taken birth from her. (Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium)

Mary lives with her eyes fixed on God. She has placed all her trust in the Almighty and surrendered herself entirely to him. She asks this for us, too: that we may live with unbreakable trust in Jesus, untroubled amidst all the storms of life and eager to pass on the same attitude to those around us. This is what she wants for us, her children. And, above all, she wants some day to see us in heaven, beside her Son.

(In Conversation with God, Advent and Christmastide)

Dancing Queen

Friday was Hannah's school dance recital and it was mercifully brief compared to last year's. This year there were two different teachers and one of the thing that stood out was what a difference choreography can make to an inexperienced dancer. Luckily, Hannah's teacher was the good one of the two but I really felt for the hapless Intro to Dance students whose teacher had them doing carefully timed moves. They had little chance of being together on most of them so one was left watching the individual students for their own levels of expertise.

Of course, Hannah was the best in her class ... was there any doubt of that? Actually, she always does stand out because somehow she has that perfect ballerina posture and completes every movement with great assurance. She also looks out with a serious composure that reminds one of a prima ballerina. I know I'm the doting mother here, but I have had more than one person comment on this to me. Perhaps she should have been taking dance classes all along ... too bad to think we might have deprived the world of an artist. Or maybe she actually is here to remind us all of the grace possible in just holding ourselves well (as I straighten my back hastily)!

I Now Know More Than Most People Ever Should About Alcatraz

After Tom took Hannah to San Francisco for her 16th birthday trip she returned with insatiable curiousity about Alcatraz and "Birdman" James Stroud. What she found out and reported over the next week was really interesting.

Last night Rose practiced her Speech "final" with me ... over and over and over ... about Alcatraz (what else?). So not only has my memory been refreshed, I got to hear several debates over the fine points as Hannah's sources often differed with Rose's. The battle of Alcatraz, James' Stroud's little anger management problem (let's just call him insane and be done with it), Al Capone's reaction to imprisonment there, and much more are now part of my data base forever.

Now I hear through the grapevine that my good friend, the Happy Capitalist, is complaining because the light from Alcatraz blinks and obscures his fine view of San Francisco. That's one detail I didn't need to hear. Let's all go blow dust off our old records of Joe Walsh's Life's Been Good to Me So Far and sing along ... "I can't complain but sometimes I still do..."

(Now I've just gotta get myself to Oakland so I can complain about that darn light too!)

Something to Keep in Mind When Buying Christmas Gifts

LITTLE ABIGAIL AND THE BEAUTIFUL PONY

There was a girl named Abigail
Who was taking a drive
Through the country
With her parents
When she spied a beautiful sad-eyed
Grey and white pony.
And next to it was a sign
That said,
FOR SALE -- CHEAP.
"Oh," said Abigail,
"May I have that pony?
May I please?"
And her parents said,
"No you may not."
And Abigail said,
"But I MUST have that pony."
And her parents said,
"Well, you can't have that pony,
but you can have a nice butter pecan
Ice cream cone when we get home."
And Abigail said,
"I don't want a butter pecan
Ice cream cone,
I WANT THAT PONY --
I MUST HAVE THAT PONY."
And her parents said,
"Be quiet and stop nagging --
You're not getting that pony."
And Abigail began to cry and said,
"If I don't get that pony I'll die."
And her parents said, "You won't die.
No child ever died yet from not getting a pony."
And Abigail felt so bad
That when they got homeshe went to bed,
And she couldn't eat,
And she couldn't sleep,
And her heart was broken,
And she DID die --
All because of a pony
That her parents wouldn't buy.

(This is a good story
To read to your folks
When they won't buy
You something you want.)

Shel Silverstein, The Light in the Attic

The Reason for the Luminous Mysteries

Back in September, Mary posted the following:
"There are three influences which appear to Us to have the chief place in effecting this downgrade movement of society. These are-first, the distaste for a simple and labourious life; secondly, repugnance to suffering of any kind; thirdly, the forgetfulness of the future life."
Pope Leo XIII
Remedies:
Dislike of Poverty - The Joyful Mysteries
Repugnance to Suffering-The Sorrowful Mysteries
Forgetfulness of the Future - The Glorious Mysteries
She then asked:
"For what ill in society would the Luminous Mysteries be a remedy?"

Alicia at Fructis Ventris has the answer and it's a goooood one! I won't steal her thunder by telling her answer. You need to go read it for yourself. It makes perfect sense to me considering that we were given the Luminous Mysteries in this day and age. The Luminous Mysteries are my favorites and I am going to be even fonder of them when keeping her reflections in mind.

CRHP Central, How May I Help You?

Last night we had a wonderful concentration of CRHP sisters in our lives for about an hour. Arlene called to see about Hannah's availability for babysitting but I didn't surrender the phone until we had a chance to catch up with each other. Tammy dropped by to visit between leaving her office and going to the gym. While we were chatting and she was getting a very sketchy cooking lesson watching me cook dinner, she got a call from Holly. Nothing like shouting "Hello" at a cell phone from across the kitchen is there?

As Tammy was leaving, dear "Veronica" called, ostensibly searching for a babysitter. It also seems that "Veronica is on the Verge" of learning to do sidebars for her blog ... so she'll be dropping by my house Monday evening for a lesson. Actually, "Veronica's" been a very busy bee getting a lot of people excited about scrapbooking (not me) or knitting (YES me!) 'n' praise sessions. She's also getting ready to run our Women's Prayer Meeting on Sunday. I don't know when she's going to have time for blogging ... speaking of which, it is really fun to talk to someone in person about your favorite blogs, which is a luxury I don't have except when Veronica and I chat like that.

Anyway, there's nothing like a flurry of friends to remind me of how blessed I am to have them in my life, all because I joined up for a weekend retreat. Thank you, Lord!

Christ in Christmas

Don't look for Christ in the abstract or "spiritual"; look for him in the familiar. We don't need to "keep Christ in Christmas," he never left! They can't get rid of him, no matter how hard they try. "Happy Holidays" and "Winter Solstice" concerts can't erase him. Throughout the country secular radio stations are playing songs that sing explicitly of Jesus. On Christmas Day millions of Christians witness to Christ by going to church, where they gather in his name. Be they regular Mass goers or the Christmas and Easter crowd, the ultimate and objective reason for their presence is Jesus Christ. Whether or not they are attentive or feel holy or want to be there, their very presence in the church points to the presence of Jesus ...

If we are attentive, then even the commercialization of Christmas cannot obscure him: when you see a house gaudily lit and decorated, when you eagerly breathe in the smell of pine, when you keep age-old traditions of cooking and baking in absurd abundance, or wrapping presents, both practical and unnecessary, in bright paper and bows, or participating in concerts and caroling in schools and nursing homes and all kinds of places. Why? Why this attack on all of our senses? Because God has entered history; he came to us through our ordinary senses! He is a light in the darkness that can be seen! All these traditions point back to Christ.

Let us not lament what is missing but rejoice in his Presence. The manger left a lot to be desired, but it carried the Desire of Nations. Why don't we recognize him today? Because we don't expect to find him in our imperfect family, in our own weak humanity, and in the crass hubbub that can surround Christmas. But it all points to him! He is here! He has come and is still with us in and through all that is familiar to us. Come, let us recognize him and adore him.

Father Richard Veras, Magnificat magazine

Microsoft Blogging Software

The Curt Jester was good enough to test Microsoft's new blogging system. No joke, they really are doing one. It actually looks a lot better than I thought it would and he says it's easy to use. Go see what all the fuss is about.

Iraqi Terror Alert System

I don't know how The Onion manages to keep coming up this stuff but I had to laugh out loud.

Giving to the Homeless, Face to Face

(This post has been updated and reposted here)

The first time I ever saw a beggar was in Paris, 18 years ago. She was across the street and Tom said, "Don't look at her." Of course, I did and she began screaming invective and shaking her fist at me. It's a good thing my French wasn't very fluent or I'm sure my ears would have burned. Everywhere we went there were beggars. It was deeply troubling for someone like me who had never seen such a thing before. Tom, whose family lived in London for several years, was more blasé. He taught me to ignore them and that they were making plenty of money off of the population at large. I did make him give to a couple of WWII veterans who were playing music for their coins but at least they had sacrificed something for their country ... they had done something to deserve our charity.

I wasn't Christian then; I wasn't even sure if God existed. Nothing other than popular thought occurred to me in those situations. That was saved for 15 years later in 2001 when we went back to Paris and London with the girls. I had converted by then, we attended Mass weekly, and they went to Catholic school with religion lessons every day. It was fairly common to see the homeless on street corners but we were insulated by the car and traffic flow. These up close encounters with beggars in Europe were different. Tom and I gave the standard "making money off the crowd" explanation but it didn't sit very well, especially with the Christian precepts that had taken hold by then.

Then, one evening, I read this quote.

There are those who say to the poor that they seem to look to be in such good health: "You are so lazy! You could work. You are young. You have strong arms."

You don't know that it is God's pleasure for this poor person to go to you and ask for a handout. You show yourself as speaking against the will of God.

There are some who say: "Oh, how badly he uses it!" May he do whatever he wants with it! The poor will be judged on the use they have made of their alms, and you will be judged on the very alms that you could have given but haven't.

St. John Vianney

You certainly couldn't get much clearer than those words. St. John Vianney covered pretty much every objection I ever thought of for giving to the poor. That was my wake-up call and the end of ignoring beggars. We were supplied with handfuls of coins that were distributed at large as we went through the subway stations. When I got home I stocked the car with granola bars and bottles of water. I passed them out at every street corner we stopped at. I never have any cash on me and they almost always had signs saying "Will work for food" so it seemed a good match.

Then Dallas passed a law against any panhandling on street corners and, for the most part, the homeless disappeared from sight. I had gotten used to being on the lookout for people to give my granola bars to and now the corners seemed very empty.

About that time, I was the leader of a Catholic women's group that met weekly. One evening our discussion became a debate over two strategies of giving to the homeless. One group believed in giving to people as they were encountered. The other countered with stories of scam artists and believed in giving to organizations who would distribute goods and cash in the most beneficial way to the needy. Two things stuck with me after that meeting though. The first was that my friend, Rita, said she was troubled by those who didn't want to give face to face because "they don't know what blessings they may be depriving themselves of." Once again I remembered St. John Vianney's quote.

The second thing occurred to me as I listened to the debate. Jesus never said anything about helping the poor by giving to the local temple or soup kitchen. He said:

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me."

Then the righteous will answer him and say, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?"

And the king will say to them in reply, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."

Matthew 25: 35-40

Tom and I do support organized charities and I know they reach farther than I ever could personally. This is not an argument against those organizations. However, I think that we cannot rest with those contributions. I believe that if we have a personal encounter with the needy it is because they have been sent to us for their good and our own. If we turn them away, then we are turning Christ Himself away and what blessings are we sending away with Him?

This was reinforced for me during a retreat I attended a few weeks ago. Somehow the debate over how to give to the homeless came up along those old familiar lines, not just once but twice. Each time I trotted out my St. John Vianney quote. Then my friend, Mauri, said that when she looked at those unfortunates she saw people she knew. For instance, she has a schizophrenic nephew who doesn't want to take his meds so he has been found wandering only in his boxers in a Chicago suburb. A confused old lady at the bank reminded her of her mother and Mauri found a discreet way to help her while preserving her dignity. She reminded me of the worth and dignity of each of these people. She later sent me this story which is the perfect example of looking past the surface to the real person that is there in front of us.

Today at the post office I saw this man going through the garbage -- I think looking for food as he was going through a discarded fast food bag and picked out left over bun from the bag, emptied the bag of the other garbage, and then used the bag to neatly wrap up the left over bun and then placed it in his satchel. You could tell that he still had his pride as he looked well kept, although worn and a bit "dusty". He was not begging in any way. Just walking through the strip center where the post office was.

I wanted to help as I sensed that he was hungry, but he was not asking for help and he did not approach me in anyway. I was so worried to bruise his pride, but could not stand the thought of him only having the leftover bun for food. I got out of my car with $5 and asked him if he was hungry. He said he was fine but hesitantly. I gave him the money and told him that I had many of times when I was hungry but didn't have the cash on me to go through McDonalds or grab a sandwich. I told him to take it for when he might need it. I don't think I hurt his pride. His eyes were so kind.

I only wish I had asked his name ... He looked like he might have been mid 60s. I should have given him more money. I can't get him out of my mind. He could have been someone's grandfather, father, etc.

I am so grateful to Mauri for bringing me to this phase in my awareness of the homeless. Each of them was some mother's baby, a tiny toddler learning to walk, a laughing boy or girl at school. We must remember that when we are looking at these people who can seem so frightening or strange or manipulative. I pray that someday I can look at these people and find my vision is perfect ... I hope that someday I can look at a homeless person and see Jesus Himself. In this quest I think we can not do better than to take the advice of someone who achieved perfect vision and sought out her beloved Jesus in the homeless.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Equal Representation

My sister got this from a friend who is a Democrat. A nice touch and hilarious to boot!

Healing Poetry

The election is over,
the talking is done.
My side has lost,
and your side has won.
Now, let's all pull together,
and let bitterness pass.
I'll hug your elephant,
and you can kiss my ass.

Depp-alicious

FINDING NEVERLAND
Rose really was determined to see Finding Neverland, being a Johnny Depp fan. And who am I to deny her that? For one thing I was so grateful that two of her other picks were rated R ("Troy" and "Alexander") so I was happy that this was something I might enjoy. For another, I am not immune to Johnny Depp's charms and he was in practically every scene. It was really good but totally an art house film. I love going to The Angelica, one of our three art house theaters nearby and was happy to see it was playing there.

Finding Neverland is the story of J.M. Barrie (Depp), the famous playwright, who becomes great friends with a widow and her four irascible sons. The only holdout to Barrie's imagination and charm is Peter who is mourning the untimely death of his father and resents silliness. Barrie's friendship with the widow leads to trouble with his wife and scoldings from the widow's formidable mother, played by Julie Christie with great assurance. I loved seeing Christie look every inch the dowager but yet still beautiful without botox and dyed hair. Also really well done were the scenes that flipped back and forth between Barrie's imagination and the games he played with the boys. Another favorite moment was watching the audience as they watched the premiere of Peter Pan. Seeing Barrie's ploy to gain society's acceptance of a play that was essentially a children's tale was really enjoyable. Every performance was right on the money. The film overall was magical.

We all agreed that it was just as well that Tom didn't go (not really a guy's movie) although he probably would enjoy seeing it at home when the DVD comes out.

The Sin That is Different

"Each one of us, if we examine our conscience well, will realize that apart from all the sins we commit, there is one that is different because we are more ready to commit it. It is that sin to which we are secretly attached and which we confess but without a real will to give it up. It is that sin we think we can never free ourselves of because, in fact, we do not want to free ourselves of it or, at least, not right now... Sin enslaves us until we truly say "enough!" Then it loses almost all its power over us ...

But what must we do exactly? In a moment of recollection let us kneel down in God's presence and say to him: "Lord, you know my weakness and I know it too. Trusting therefore only in your grace and faithfulness I declare that from now on I no longer want that particular satisfaction, that particular freedom, friendship, resentment, that particular sin ...; I want to accept the idea of having to live without it from now on. I have finished with sin and with that particular sin. I repeat, enough of that! Help me with your Spirit. Renew in me a firm spirit, keep my heart generous. I consider myself dead to sin." After this, sin no longer reigns simply because you no longer want it to reign; it was, in fact, in your will that it reigned. There may be no apparent change, those around us may still notice the same faults in us, but where God is concerned something has changed because our freedom is now on God's side.

However, we must insist on one thing: this decision must be put into practice right away, otherwise it can easily get lost."

Father Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., preacher to the papal household

Feeling the Power of Prayer

I have had people tell me that they knew my prayers helped them or that they could feel people were praying for them. I have had many times when I experienced answers to the prayers of me and others but never anything immediate ... until Thursday. That was when I wrote a quick note about needing to get back the joy of Christmas.

My dear CRHP sister, Deb, wrote that she was praying for me. She knew what I needed when I didn't myself. For some reason I was feeling desperate about this problem. Why? I don't know but I just was. I read Deb's warm response and thought, "Jesus, give me the joy." Then I thought I'd just look at one more blog before going back to work and wound up at M'Lynn's where I read a passage that refocused my thoughts and eased my heart ... instantly. (I have to note here that every time I get a quick response to something I'm always ordering Him around ... no "please" or "if it's in Your will." It is never deliberate but just something I realize when looking back.)

Not only was I not dreading Christmas preparations but I was filled with an active, joyful anticipation of cookie making, shopping, decorating ... everything. M'Lynn is insightful and a great writer but that would be a lot to ask from any one inspirational paragraph ... unless it was direct, immediate answer to Deb's prayer. Wow! What a powerful lesson and how thankful I am for it!

Turning this over in my mind throughout the day, I then followed a statcounter link back to a new blog, Martha2. Not only do I feel that "Martha" connection (she ain't my patron saint for nothin'), but I admired what I read about the resolution to a chance meeting with a girl who broke her son's heart, and then there was her most recent post from today.

can you feel it now? some, somehow.
there are always times in my life when i am asking someone to remember me in prayer, or mostly to remember my family if we are going through a hard time.

for whatever reason, i just thought i'd report for those of you who are praying for me (us?) that for today, it feels like they are working. i feel almost "normal" today, and for that, i am thankful.
Martha2

I think there's a fair chance we may be on the same wavelength.